“GO FOR THE GUSTO”

“Go For The Gusto” was an advertising phrase for Schlitz Beer quit a while ago.Must have stuck because it came to mind today.I was thinking about how many businesses today are straining, straining, straining to survive and grow.Something feels wrong about it to me. Straining over the long run is non-productive, non-sustainable, and sure not motivating. Strain can be good for that last burst of effort, that one moment that makes a huge difference, but constant strain doesn’t give progress. At best it holds your place against an equal but opposite force i.e. the competition.

The word “gusto” came to mind as in, “Where has all the gusto gone in so many businesses”? Gusto is a combination of joy and rigor. Isn’t that perfect for what you want for your company? “Joy and rigor?”

Where does real joy come from for a business?–Serving a customer really really well–Being proud of the product of the company–Enjoying working with good colleagues–Being glad to follow the top leadersWhere does rigor come from for a business?–Watching how hard colleagues work to please a customer–Standards that are inhaled from the behavior of respected leaders–The intrinsic satisfaction of work well done–Reward for doing the difficultNow run your efforts through those simple factors of “gusto” and see if they align well.Next– stop all the foolishness that doesn’t. It’s the foolishness that creates the strain, that kills the joy, that reduces the vigor and keeps your company in the death spiral.